laufen — German conjugation
to run
Indicative
Present (Präsens) Irregular
Präsens is the default present for facts, habits, and near-future plans. German has no continuous aspect in the same way as English, so a single form often covers both “I work” and “I am working” when you add a time adverb or context.
Ich arbeite heute im Homeoffice.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | laufe | I run |
| du | läufst | you run |
| er/sie/es | läuft | he/she/it runs |
| wir | laufen | we run |
| ihr | lauft | you (pl.) run |
| sie/Sie | laufen | they run |
Simple past (Präteritum) Irregular
Präteritum is a narrative past, common in print and in northern speech, while southern speakers lean on the perfect in conversation. sein and haben keep their Präteritum even when you otherwise avoid the preterite.
Er war müde, aber er hatte keinen Kaffee mehr.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | lief | I ran |
| du | liefst | you ran |
| er/sie/es | lief | he/she/it ran |
| wir | liefen | we ran |
| ihr | lieft | you (pl.) ran |
| sie/Sie | liefen | they ran |
Present perfect (Perfekt) Irregular
The Perfekt is the everyday past for finished events: auxiliary haben or sein plus participle, with sein for most motion, coming/going, and some change-of-state verbs.
Wir sind rechtzeitig angekommen und haben gefeiert.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | bin gelaufen | I have run |
| du | bist gelaufen | you have run |
| er/sie/es | ist gelaufen | he/she/it has run |
| wir | sind gelaufen | we have run |
| ihr | seid gelaufen | you (pl.) have run |
| sie/Sie | sind gelaufen | they have run |
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) Irregular
The Plusquamperfekt is the pluperfect: it marks what had already completed before a later past episode in the same narrative.
Sie war schon gegangen, bevor er ankam.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | war gelaufen | I had run |
| du | warst gelaufen | you had run |
| er/sie/es | war gelaufen | he/she/it had run |
| wir | waren gelaufen | we had run |
| ihr | wart gelaufen | you (pl.) had run |
| sie/Sie | waren gelaufen | they had run |
Future I (Futur I) Irregular
Futur I is for predictions, firm promises, and also probability about the present in colloquial German. Everyday speech very often uses Präsens plus a time expression instead.
Morgen schneit es, sagt der Wetterbericht.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | werde laufen | I will run |
| du | wirst laufen | you will run |
| er/sie/es | wird laufen | he/she/it will run |
| wir | werden laufen | we will run |
| ihr | werdet laufen | you (pl.) will run |
| sie/Sie | werden laufen | they will run |
Future II (Futur II) Irregular
Futur II (werden + participle + haben/sein) names an action that will be completed before a later time, and can also express a guess that something must already have happened.
Bis Freitag werde ich alles gepackt haben.
| Pronoun | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | werde gelaufen sein | I will have run |
| du | wirst gelaufen sein | you will have run |
| er/sie/es | wird gelaufen sein | he/she/it will have run |
| wir | werden gelaufen sein | we will have run |
| ihr | werdet gelaufen sein | you (pl.) will have run |
| sie/Sie | werden gelaufen sein | they will have run |
Subjunctive
Subjunctive II (Konjunktiv II) Irregular
Konjunktiv II is the mood for politeness, contrary-to-fact if-clauses, and reported views. In speech, würde + infinitive often stands in for rarer preterit-based forms.
Könnten Sie mir bitte helfen?
| Pronoun | German |
|---|---|
| ich | liefe |
| du | liefest |
| er/sie/es | liefe |
| wir | liefen |
| ihr | liefet |
| sie/Sie | liefen |
Other forms
Imperative (Imperativ) Irregular
The imperative uses the du, ihr, and Sie forms of command; the informal du form drops the -st of the present for many strong verbs, and separable-prefix verbs place the prefix at the end.
Mach bitte schnell, der Zug fährt gleich ab.
| Pronoun | German |
|---|---|
| du | laufe |
| ihr | lauft |